The Syd Barrett Archiveshttp://sydbarrett.net
Sat, 05 Aug 2017 15:54:53 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.3Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason on the making of The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn – 50th Anniversaryhttp://sydbarrett.net/pink-floyds-nick-mason-making-piper-gates-dawn-50th-anniversary/
Sat, 05 Aug 2017 15:54:29 +0000http://sydbarrett.net/?p=299The psychedelic pioneers’ debut was released on 5 August 1967. To mark its anniversary Elizabeth Alker spoke to Pink Floyd’s drummer about making the record and more.

]]>Pink Floyd – The Early Years 1965-1972 Reviewhttp://sydbarrett.net/pink-floyd-early-years-1965-1972-review/
Sun, 13 Nov 2016 14:22:52 +0000http://sydbarrett.net/?p=294I will be reviewing the entire box set disc by disc. I will give the good, the bad, and the ugly on the set and look at it as both to someone who isn’t s super collector as well as someone who already has a lot of this material. I will expand this article each day […]

]]>I will be reviewing the entire box set disc by disc. I will give the good, the bad, and the ugly on the set and look at it as both to someone who isn’t s super collector as well as someone who already has a lot of this material. I will expand this article each day as I go along. Audio first and then video.

Disc 1 & 2 Cambridge Station

Disc 1:

Songs 1-6: Obviously being fans of Syd Barrett and the early Pink Floyd this is where we want to start. The 6 songs from the Tea Set which came out last year in that limited RSD double single are as good as I reviewed there, so I will not add anything to that.

Songs 7-11: These are the early singles in Mono, they sound nice, not really anything new or much to add here that most of us don’t know.

Song 12: Matilda Mother is the version from the 40th anniversary of Piper and An Introduction to Syd Barrett, nothing new here.

Song 13: Jugband Blues, just the 2010 mix of this song.

Song 14: In the Beechwoods, one of the holy grails that we have been waiting for, well, it’s here, it’s an instrumental and the sound quality is good.

Song 15: Vegetable Man, the 2nd of the holy missing songs, now I will say this is the best sounding version I have heard, BUT the mix is a new mix and not the original mix that we are used to hearing on RoIO’s and such, the easiest tell on that is at the end of the song. But a nice edition and certainly the best quality version that has ever been out there.

Song 16: Scream Thy Last Scream, well this one I am a little disappointed in, especially the mix. Honestly I have a RoIO that beats this in both sound and mix. The most noticeable difference is that they mixed down the high pitch (Syd) singing and brought Nick’s main vocal more out front, they also unbalanced the keyboards in this mix.

Disc 2

Songs 1-8: The Stockholm show from 67 that was dug up a few years ago, it sounds great, even if you still cannot really hear the vocals. The standout is Reaction in G, but also to note that Scream Thy Last Scream is truncated.

Songs 9-17: John Latham versions 1-9, well really these are just alot of instrumental tracks, mostly just jamming in the studio, they sound fine, but nothing really stands out here.

What is still missing from this time frame, well quite a bit, here is my list:

The Advision sessions: Interstellar Overdrive, Arnold Layne, Let’s Roll Another One, and a fourth track, where are these? Though Interstellar Overdrive we may already have.

Songs missing from the Piper sessions: 4/18/67 She was a Millionaire, and the early Lucifer Sam (Percy the Ratcatcher), 6/29/67 Sunshine, The original 67 Mixes of Scream and Vegetable, the Barrett sessions from Saucerful from 8/7/67 through at least the end of the year such as Set the Controls, Remember a Day, Paintbox, Let there Be More Light. Also if there are any studio versions of Reaction in G and One in a Million (unless this is the same as She Was a Millionaire).

Disc 3 Germination

Songs 1-4: 1968 singles, sound good, have been around before though.

Songs 5-6: Now here are a pair of new items that we have not heard before, 2 tracks from Capitol Studios in Hollywood, they are certainly interesting. Song 1 sounds like it may be an early thought of Cymbaline, sort of. And Roger’s Boogie sounds like nothing else the Floyd have done, odd tune, cool though.

Tracks 7-13: BBC sessions, all great, though I may prefer the mixes from Rhapsody In Pink (RoIO) than these, just my 2c.

]]>Syd Barrett: Cambridge honours its ‘Crazy Diamond’http://sydbarrett.net/syd-barrett-cambridge-honours-crazy-diamond/
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 08:29:08 +0000http://sydbarrett.net/?p=288By Jodie Halford BBC News An artwork commemorating Pink Floyd legend Syd Barrett is being unveiled in his home city of Cambridge following years of campaigning by fans for a permanent memorial. Why has it taken so long for the city to fully honour its “Crazy Diamond”? “He wasn’t in any way a pop star […]

An artwork commemorating Pink Floyd legend Syd Barrett is being unveiled in his home city of Cambridge following years of campaigning by fans for a permanent memorial. Why has it taken so long for the city to fully honour its “Crazy Diamond”?

“He wasn’t in any way a pop star – he never understood celebrity.”

Rosemary Breen prefers to think of her late brother as Roger, a man who lived a quiet life in Cambridge and who was at his happiest when painting. But Roger, who died in 2006, had spent much of the early part of his life as someone else entirely: Syd Barrett.

Adored by fans across the globe, he was the principal songwriter and driving creative force in the early days of Pink Floyd, the band he was a founding member of and in which he sang and played guitar. But just when the band’s career was taking off, Barrett’s drug use and mental health issues resulted in increasingly erratic behaviour. It led to his departure from the band and his eventual return to Cambridge as a semi-recluse.

Following his death from cancer in 2006, there were calls for the city where he had spent his formative years and later life to commemorate him in some way. Now, in a year that is both the 70th anniversary of his birth and the 10th anniversary of his death, the calls have been answered.

Working alongside Barrett’s family, arts and events charity Cambridge Live is unveiling a specially-designed artwork in memory of the former Cambridgeshire High School for Boys pupil.
It will be installed in the foyer of the Cambridge Corn Exchange, the venue where Barrett played his last ever live gig, remembered for being a disastrous performance by a very different man than the bright, dynamic young performer he had once been.

The commemorative events at the venue will also include a sold-out concert by Swedish band Men on the Border, who play cover versions of Barrett’s solo work, accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra.

The plans have been a year in the making and have been spearheaded by Cambridge Live’s operations director Neil Jones, himself a big fan of Pink Floyd and its former star, Syd. “When I first moved here, I couldn’t believe there was no memorial or legacy for the city’s biggest musical export,” he said. “Now it feels like the planets are aligned with the significance of the year, and it’s all just come together.”

Barrett’s sister Rosemary, 69, will be participating in the celebrations, but says if her brother were alive, he would probably have stayed at home. “He wouldn’t have been interested in it – he wouldn’t have turned up, and just let people get on with it,” she said. “I’m proud of the fact he could have given so many people pleasure through his music, but I know he wasn’t proud of himself – he was just having fun.”

Barrett’s musical journey began in Cambridge in the 1950s where he won a piano duet competition with his sister, aged seven. At school he was friends with Roger Waters and David Gilmour – both of whom would later play in Pink Floyd – and in his teens he began adopting the nickname “Syd”. After honing his craft in a few local bands and making a name for himself in the city, he attended the Camberwell College of Art at a time when London was the epicentre of the UK underground music scene. The band he joined there, which included Waters and Richard Wright as members, would later evolve into Pink Floyd – a name Barrett came up with.

By 1967, the band had signed a record deal and released two singles – Arnold Layne and See Emily Play – both of which were written by Barrett. But their early success coincided with the onset of serious issues for Barrett, whose use of LSD and other psychedelic drugs was well-known. After erratic performances in the US and troubled behaviour in rehearsals he left the band in 1968 and moved back to Cambridge to live with his mother, Win, in her three-bedroom house in Cherry Hinton. Meanwhile, Pink Floyd continued without him, going on to pay tribute to their former bandmate in their 1975 composition Shine On You Crazy Diamond, and becoming one of the most successful and influential rock groups ever.

Cambridge’s Corn Exchange was the venue for Syd Barrett’s final live appearance in 1972 Barrett embarked on a solo career which saw him perform at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in 1972 – the last live show he played. “It’s no secret that it was far from the finest performance of his career,” said Neil Jones of Cambridge Live. “Notoriously, it was shambolic, and from what we gather it was abandoned midway through”. Jack Monck, a bass player who was on stage with Barrett that night, said: “It’s become this iconic moment, but at the time it was the opposite. I didn’t spend time regretting it, but I do regret we weren’t more savvy and prepared.”

Mr Jones says unveiling a memorial at the venue would not involve “brushing what happened under the carpet”. “The fact remains, it was his final ever live performance. It was a moment in history – and that’s what we’re remembering,” he said.

Appearing on the 1975 album “Wish You Were Here”, the nine-part Pink Floyd composition “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” was a tribute to Barrett, written by David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Rick Wright The lyrics refer to “a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky”, an apparent reference to the effects of Barrett’s drug use. Barrett made an appearance at London’s Abbey Road studios while the band were recording the track, and at first they did not recognize the shaven-headed, overweight man in the corner of the room.

He eventually withdrew from the music industry and returned to Cambridge, where he lived until his death, from pancreatic cancer, in 2006.

Roger Waters said Barrett’s issues “happened very fast… right around the time of See Emily Play. You know, he got very weird very quickly”

The artwork itself, named CODA and to be unveiled later, was chosen from a shortlist by Barrett’s sister and her nephew. They picked it, she said, because it seemed “the right choice for what we were doing – very bright and sparkly, but quite basic”. “It is what it is without any extra bits,” she added, describing her brother – who reverted to the name Roger in the 1970s, and would answer the door to strangers by saying “Syd doesn’t live here anymore” – as a “very straightforward, ordinary guy”. “I would like him to be remembered for what he was – fun,” she said. “He only got into that world because he enjoyed music – he didn’t know why people were interested in him. “I’ve never liked or understood Pink Floyd, but I love his paintings and he was at his happiest when he was doing that,” she said.

As part of the tributes, previously unseen footage of Barrett was screened as part of the Cambridge Film Festival. The documentary film, “Get All That, Ant?”, was put together by Anthony Stern, a former school friend of Barrett who worked as a professional photographer capturing images of London’s 1960s counterculture scene. He remembers Barrett as “very charming, very bouncy, very youthful”, and said he did not think the musician ever really grew up. “He was self expressive and didn’t let go of the dreams, memories and affections of his childhood.”

Bass player Monck recalls the influence Barrett’s home city had on a man he described as a “creative spark”. “I think there’s no doubt Cambridge had a profound effect on him. He was absolutely umbilically linked to the city,” he said. “It’s surprising there hasn’t been a memorial as yet, but that’s all going to change now.”

]]>Pink Floyd – The Early Years Box – 1965-1972http://sydbarrett.net/pink-floyd-early-years-box/
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 20:12:13 +0000http://sydbarrett.net/?p=278As some of you may already know, it has been announced that a Pink Floyd – The Early Years 1965-1972 box set is being released to cover the treasure trove of unreleased, live and rare recordings from their early years. This release will finally get songs like Scream Thy Last Scream, Vegetable Man, In The […]

]]>As some of you may already know, it has been announced that a Pink Floyd – The Early Years 1965-1972 box set is being released to cover the treasure trove of unreleased, live and rare recordings from their early years. This release will finally get songs like Scream Thy Last Scream, Vegetable Man, In The Beechwoods and more finally out there as well as the 1965 demos that were released in a limited fashion last year.

There will also be separate releases of the discs contained within the set with some tracks being left out and exclusive to the box.

The only tracks that seem to be missing now from the Syd Barrett time period is She Was A Millionaire, recorded in April of 67, along with the early version of Lucifer Sam called Percy The Ratcatcher, and the early versions of Arnold Layne and Let’s Roll Another One (Candy and a Currant Bun) (Unless these two are included here in the set, but it doesn’t seem to be the case), beyond that everything seems to be covered and then some.

Please note: the above tracks feature vocals recorded at a less than optimum level

John Latham (studio recordings 1967)

9. John Latham Version 1† 4.32
10. John Latham Version 2† 5.06
11. John Latham Version 3† 3.45
12. John Latham Version 4† 2.59
13. John Latham Version 5† 2.48
14. John Latham Version 6† 3.17
15. John Latham Version 7† 2.36
16. John Latham Version 8† 2.49
17. John Latham Version 9† 2.38

]]>Pink Floyd Vinyl Re-releaseshttp://sydbarrett.net/pink-floyd-vinyl-re-releases/
Mon, 27 Jun 2016 12:46:19 +0000http://sydbarrett.net/?p=189Pink Floyd have begun their series of vinyl re-releases with their first 4 albums; Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, A Saucerful Of Secrets, More & Ummagumma). So fans of Syd Barrett will be particularly interested in the first two releases. I will review these in the upcoming weeks. For our Ad-Blocker friends (links […]

]]>Pink Floyd have begun their series of vinyl re-releases with their first 4 albums; Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, A Saucerful Of Secrets, More & Ummagumma). So fans of Syd Barrett will be particularly interested in the first two releases. I will review these in the upcoming weeks.

]]>Pink Floyd 1965 Their First Recordings Reviewhttp://sydbarrett.net/pink-floyd-1965-their-first-recordings-review/
Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:02:07 +0000http://sydbarrett.net/?p=185Since we here at The Syd Barrett Archives broke this before any of the other Floyd sites, I wanted to make sure I also gave this a thorough review. Well, it finally landed in my hands and ears last night and so here we go. A few notes before I start. I believe from a […]

]]>Since we here at The Syd Barrett Archives broke this before any of the other Floyd sites, I wanted to make sure I also gave this a thorough review. Well, it finally landed in my hands and ears last night and so here we go.

A few notes before I start. I believe from a number of sources that the band was either The Tea Set or Sigma 6 during this time frame and not Pink Floyd, not that it is a big deal, but it is something. I also think that it might be Bob Klose singing on Remember Me which he isn’t credited for, but until we hear back from him I cannot be sure. It certainly isn’t Syd, Rick or Roger. Could be Nick I suppose, but my gut tells me it is Bob.

1. Lucy Leave – Most hardcore Floyd and Barrett fans are already familiar with this track, since it has been widely available since the advent of youtube from it’s acetate along with King Bee. Not much of a change here, slightly longer, a bit more cleaned up. Lucy Leave fits directly into the mid 60’s stuff like Yardbirds, Animals, a little Beatles, The Who. It is definitely the most Floyd like cut out of the bunch, but it still isn’t very Floyd.

2. Double O Bo – Talked about it’s existence for years and it finally pops up. This is a great little Bo Diddly style number with some fun drums and fun lyrics from Syd. This may be my favorite aside from Lucy.

3. Remember Me – As I mentioned above, I think this track has Bob singing. But beyond that it reminds me of early Captain Beefheart mixed with the Yardbirds and Doors like keyboards, pre Doors. In fact Rick’s keyboards all seem very Doors like throughout the songs that use them. Rick beat them to that one apparently.

4. Walk With Me Sydney – Syd is singing like Syd tends to, and in fact the lyrics are kind of like Vegetable Man and some of his solo stuff. A goofy song overall, but fun, and you have Rick’s sister doing back up vocals. Another song that has long existed in the Floyd legend, but finally heard!

5. Butterfly – The start of the song is very much like solo Syd stuff. In fact after hearing these 6 songs I would say that Syd’s solo stuff was much more like he normally wrote than the stuff with Floyd. This is a nice song, maybe the most put together out of the bunch without being or sounding like a cover. Still blues based, but solid.

6. King Bee – Like Lucy Leave, it has been floating around forever, it’s a ok cover aside from the Bass playing which was supposedly Rick on this track. Fun, but nothing great. One of the rare times over the Floyd career that you get to hear them do blues.

]]>Pink Floyd 1965 – Their First Recordingshttp://sydbarrett.net/pink-floyd-1965-their-first-recordings/
Sat, 28 Nov 2015 06:48:10 +0000http://sydbarrett.net/?p=173It would seem we have had a surprise this RSD Nov 2015, with the release of Pink Floyd 1965, double 7 inch – Their First Recordings, limited to 1000 copies worldwide, it may be the start of a possible Piper or early years immersion set, guess we will have to wait and see. Tracks are: […]

]]>It would seem we have had a surprise this RSD Nov 2015, with the release of Pink Floyd 1965, double 7 inch – Their First Recordings, limited to 1000 copies worldwide, it may be the start of a possible Piper or early years immersion set, guess we will have to wait and see.

]]>Pink Floyd 50th Anniversary special addition from Newsweekhttp://sydbarrett.net/pink-floyd-50th-anniversary-special-addition-from-newsweek/
Mon, 13 Jul 2015 20:11:49 +0000http://sydbarrett.net/?p=168Newsweek has released a special 50th anniversary edition specifically about Pink Floyd, it is out for sale now on the stands with a 10.99 price, though it can be had on Amazon for less, check the link below:

]]>Newsweek has released a special 50th anniversary edition specifically about Pink Floyd, it is out for sale now on the stands with a 10.99 price, though it can be had on Amazon for less, check the link below:

]]>Syd Barrett shm CD’s available from Japan with Extra tracks not available in the UShttp://sydbarrett.net/syd-barrett-shm-cds-available-from-japan-with-extra-tracks-not-available-in-the-us/
Wed, 29 Apr 2015 21:48:21 +0000http://sydbarrett.net/?p=134Links to the new Japanese SHM paper sleeve Syd Barrett CD’s are below: They all come in paper sleeves like the albums and have booklets and bonus tracks. The Madcap Laughs has the bonus track Rhamadam which was only available as a digital download in the past. Barrett has Bob Dylan Blues in Mono which […]

]]>Pink Floyd The Scarecrow videohttp://sydbarrett.net/pink-floyd-the-scarecrow-video/
Fri, 18 Apr 2014 15:14:01 +0000http://sydbarrett.net/?p=1794/18/14 British Pathe’ News has added their entire archive to YouTube, which means Pink Floyd The Scarecrow video and some outtakes featuring Syd Barrett are now available in the best condition ever! On the 2nd video (outtakes) Pink Floyd start around the 8 minute mark.

British Pathe’ News has added their entire archive to YouTube, which means Pink Floyd The Scarecrow video and some outtakes featuring Syd Barrett are now available in the best condition ever! On the 2nd video (outtakes) Pink Floyd start around the 8 minute mark.